Wedding gown re-do

A friend of mine has two daughters. One of them is getting married next month. The bride has a young son (5) and groom has a slightly older son (9). My friend asked if I could make ring bearer pillows out of her wedding gown.

* Gulp *

I had no qualms about helping her out, but cutting a wedding gown was somehow intimidating. I took a deep breath, got out the scissors and started cutting....

The purple fabric is from a sample of the bridesmaids dresses. More about the lace pillow in a minute.

Both ring bearer pillows (shown on either end) have ribbon through the entwined heart charms that could hold rings. It is up the bride if that will be the case or even if the ribbon will be used. It can easily be removed if she so desires.

The pillows are 10" square. I had no idea what size to make the pillows. The purple fabric sample, the usable parts of the wedding gown and the size of the boys led me to this dimension. My friend's gown was A-line in style, something common back when she and I were married. Cutting two 11" squares for each pillow took most of the usable skirt fabric. Seams and some staining had to be avoided.

I used polyester batting, folded to make four layers, as the pillow form. Loose polyester seemed lumpy. The white ribbon has a bit of irridesence to it. The entwined heart charms are a Wilton product.

My friend asked if I could make a keepsake pillow for her other daughter. I used skirt fabric to make the pillow and lace from her bodice to cover the top of the pillow. Notice some fullness in the bottom of the lace pillow in the photo above? It is one of the darts. I cut fabric away from the lace, including trimming the darts themselves, but didn't want to open the darts in case the lace had disintegrated or had been cut during dress construction.

I am pleased with the results but more pleased that my friend is happy!

I'm thinking about my gown now. It has been packed away for 37 years. I didn't save an invitation or matchbook (common favor in 1975) from my wedding but I'm thinking about using part of my dress as the background in a shadow box with family photos added. I'm going to wait a few years though in case Colton ever has a little sister. I don't expect her to wear my dress as a bride, but what a dress up costume it would make!

Wanna be a bride again?

A friend of mine organized a bridal show for her employer, a local newspaper. The show was held at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial, a beautiful location for wedding receptions on Lake St Clair. I didn't take photos last night, but found these online to show you the splendor of this setting.

The long drive of brick pavers as you approach the building

The stately entrance

The ballroom set up for a wedding

A hint of the view beyond the ballroom, beautiful Lake St Clair

Bill and I were best man and matron of honor at a wedding whose reception was here many years ago. The formal gardens made a wonderful backdrop for photos. 

In the millennium since our wedding...ok not that long, but it has been three and half decades  .... styles and customs have changed and if I was getting married today, many things would be different, not necessarily by choice but by what is available and affordable in 2011.

For instance, in 1975 wedding receptions had live music. The last wedding reception we attended with a live band was 10 years ago. The groom was a music lover and it was his one splurge, a costly one. Having a DJ means that music is continuous throughout the evening and music is preselected so there is no worry of a band not having the music to a certain song. Nothing beats live music though, and the breaks that the band took gave celebrants and guests a chance to talk without competition from sound levels often too loud (both then and now) for conversation.

Expectations were lower in 1975. The average wedding reception was held in  an Amvets, VFW, Knights of Columbus or other private hall. They were plain Jane facilities compared to today's venues but with everyone using them, we didn't feel less glamorous. We didn't worry about paying extra for chair covers, midnight snacks, favors for everyone, renting photo booths for guests at the reception or limos for the bridal party because no one around here did that, in fact, some of those things just didn't exist yet even for much more lavish weddings.

If I were planning my own wedding today, I'd like to keep some of the old (especially 1975 prices!) but would love some of the new. Our wedding cake was traditional in appearance but we had chocolate cake which surprised a lot of guests back then. What rebels, eh? Look at these gorgeous cakes and flavor choices available today at Josef's Pastry Shop.  Their cakes taste as good as they look. I spoke to someone from Josef's last night and said that I had never heard a bad comment about anything from their bakery. He had heard a derogatory comment about a wedding cake. The comment was that the design was hideous and the colors were terrible. He was concerned that the bride would hear this and what she might feel. After all, she chose the design and colors and seemed thrilled with the end result. He soon discovered that the commenter was an ex-girlfriend of the groom.  Meow!

One of the most dramatic changes in weddings since mine is the bridal gown. Years ago we wore white or ecru and were very covered up. As styles changed in years after my wedding, if the gown revealed much of your back or ....heaven forbid....if it was strapless...the bride had something over her shoulders during the church service. 

When I was a bride at 22, I didn't think I had the body to wear a strapless gown. I was much too critical of myself then. If I were getting married today, I would seriously consider this gown that I saw last night. It is from Boutique Bellissima and was truly stunning in person.  This photo from their site appears grainy and doesn't begin to do the gown justice.

I don't regret any of our choices for our wedding. I had a wonderful day and have had a wonderful life since. Here I am with Mom and Dad in the living room before going to the church and walking down the aisle with Dad.

I bet my daughter-in-law will look back on her beautiful wedding in 35 years and shake her head at the changes in her lifetime. Who knows, maybe my dress will be back in style!

Something old, something borrowed...

Did you have something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue when you were married?

With Chuck and Kim's upcoming wedding, that rhyme popped into my head and I offered Kim a few things from my wedding day.

My parents were married in 1935 and according to them, didn't have two nickels to rub together. They were married on Thanksgiving Day as my dad had the day off from work and the tailor shop where my mom worked was closed for the holiday. Mom was married in a dress, not a bridal gown. She wore a small pin on that dress which I in turn wore on my wedding day. My dress had a high neckline with a lace neckband. I wore the pin there, off to the side. It wasn't noticed by many, but I knew it was there. When our niece on Bill's side of the family was married 13 years ago, she wore it too, also in a non obvious spot on her gown. Kim's gown is strapless so it presents more of a challenge, but she is thinking of either wearing it on her grandmother's hankie or pinned inside the skirt of her dress. She and I will know where it is, and I'd like to think my mom will know too.

The other item from my wedding which might be used again is a Bridal Cup. 16th century legend has it that the daughter of a wealthy nobleman fell in love with a lowly goldsmith. Her father was furious that she turned down suitable suitors and pined away for her true love. He thought himself ingenious when he said he would agree to their union if the goldsmith were clever enough to design a cup that two people could drink from at the same time. Surely such a thing was impossible....but true love conquers all.

The goldsmith created a chalice similar to this one, a woman holding a cup that swivels. Her skirt, when inverted,  becomes another vessel to hold liquid. The bridal couple toasts with this cup, the bride drinking from the small cup, the groom from the skirt.

Here are front, back and toasting position views of my cup. 

I recently read that a newer tradition associated with this cup says that whoever finishes their portion of the drink first becomes the "ruler of the nest". With the bride's portion being so small, guess who wins?